Apparatus for washing coal and other minerals.



P. HABETS & ALFRANCE.

APPARATUS FOR WASHING COAL AND OTHER MINERALS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9. I914.

Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

.' run snare rarer oririo.

PAUL HABETS, F MONTEGNTEE, NEAR IIIEGE AND ANTOINE FRANCE, 0F LIEGE, BELGIUM.

APPARATUS roe. WASHING coAL AND oTHEJa MINERALS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pa ti e uted snap 113,, 112, 11916,

Application filed February 9, 1914.. Serial No. 81?,665.

' resident of Montegne, near Liege, Belgium,

and ANTOINE FRANCE, a subject of thezKing of the Belgians, and resident of Liege, Belgium, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Washing Coal and other Minerals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for washing minerals for the purpose of separating out the denser material, for instance apparatus for washing coal so as to separate out the schist or heavier stony material from the coal proper. v

The. invention refers more particularly to that type of coal washing apparatus wherein a stream of water is guided by suitable means, such as a trough or launder so as to entrain with it the mineral to be washed,

the entraining stream carrying the mineralto suitable means for separating the schist from the coal.

The object of thepresent invention is to enable the schist to be discharged from the separating means by devices which will prevent the waste of water or will reduce to a minimum the amount of water discharged with the schist.

The invention is particularly applicable to apparatus of that type in which the separating means comprises means for directing ascending streams of water through slots in the bottom of the launder, down which slots the schist is free to fall while the lighter coal is carried back into the entraining stream. In this type of apparatus, if a constantly open schist discharge orifice be used, the waste of water is apt to be very considerable. Moreover if a collecting ves sel be used and be periodically discharged and then be opened to the washing appa-- In the drawing one form of apparatus is illustrated in sectional side elevation.

In the form of apparatus illustrated the stream of water entraining the mineral to be washed, is guided along a launder a to back into .the launder. lected in suitable means such aS a collecting the separatingmeans. The latter comprises a separating chamber 8, communicating with the launder a through slots 6 in the bottom of the launder. The separating chamber 8 is divided by partitions 0 into passages d, d, of which the passagesv d communicate with the launder through the aforesaid slots 6, the passages (i being open below but closed above.

Water from a suitable source is led to the passages d, for instance by a pipe e, which is suitably branched and'connected to the passages at f 7. The apparatus so far described is not novel. The Water from the passages d ascends the passages d, and washes the schist falling through the slots 6, the lighter mineral such as coal being carried The schist is colchamber 8. When sufficient schist has been collected it. is discharged by suitable means such as a sluice valve 1:, that is to say a valve known in the art and usually comprising a sliding plate'adapted to be drawn to and fro to open or cut 0E the discharge passa e.

The schist is not discharged directly into the atmosphere as this would entail such a waste of water, but it is allowed to fall into a trap 8 the discharge orifice "of which is closed by a valve '0 preferably carried by a lever Z, pivoted at m and fitted with a counter-weight 02..

When the valve '0 is open the valve '0 is closed, so that the schist falls into the trap s and displaces a volume of water therein equal to the volume of the schist. The

water so displaced passes into the chamber s, so that when the valve '0 is closed again this volume of water is conserved. The valve 12 is then opened to discharge the schist. Any water which will fall out with the schist is that which may remain in the "trap s in excess of the volume of the schist.

When the schist is discharged the trap 8 is refilled by suitable means, such as a con duit or pipe T communicating with the launder a and with the trap .9 The pipe T is fitted with a valve 42 which is only, opened each time the trap s is to be refilled. The object of refilling the trap c with water after each discharge of schist from the trap and before the valve '0 is opened is to avoid the sudden rush of water or agitation which would occur in the chamber 8,

if the schist therein were suddenly allowed to fall into the trap While the latter is empty. Such a rush or agitation Would disturb the velocity of the streams ascending the passages cl, and Would thereby interfeie With the cleansing or washing of the mineral, as in such a case coal as Well as schist would be drawn down the passages d.

Thus the operation of the'apparatus' is as follows :The valves 11 and 42 being closed,

the valve v is opened to allow Water to pass down the pipe T and fill the trap 8 The valve- '0 is then closed. When suflicient schist has accumulated in the collecting chamber s,,which can be ascertainedby inserting a rod down the passages d', the valve o is opened. After the schist has fallen into the trap '8 the valve '1) is closed again. The valve '0 is then opened to discharge the schist from the trap. The valve s is next closed and the valve v opened to refill the trap 8 so that the whole operation can be repeated.

-We claim:- I 7 r Apparatus for Washing minerals comprising a launder for guiding a stream of Water for entraining minerals to be Washed, said launder having slots in the bottom thereof communicating With a separating chamber having vertical passages, means connected to a source independent of the launder for supplying Water to said chamber for -.the

purpose of creating ascending streams of Water in said passages, a collecting chamber beneath said separating chamber for accumulatingschist descending the aforesaid passages from the entraimng stream in said launder, a trap below said collecting cham- 

